The Controversial European Legislation That Could ‘Kill Memes’ Has Been Dealt A Major Setback
A groups of MEPs have dealt a critical blow to two controversial articles aiming to regulate and harmonise copyright laws throughout the European Union by forcing the articles to undergo a vote by all MEPS on the 18th of September.
Article 11 and Article 13, colloquially known as “the link-tax bill” and the “meme-killing bill” respectively, underwent a vote on whether or not to give the mandate to the rapporteur to enter into negotiations with the European Commission and the European Council on the final text of Copyright Directive.
The vote did not pass, with 278 voting in favour and 318 against.
“I wouldn’t consider the vote as a surprise since we knew all along that there was a split between MEPs on this sensitive issue,” said Maltese MEP Francis Zammit Dimech to Lovin Malta. “While fully respecting the decision of the European Parliament, I am proud to have stood on the side of Maltese artistes and creators. I augur that this will also present an opportunity for further reflection to reach the right wording that strikes the right balance between the different interests involved.”
Great success: Your protests have worked! The European Parliament has sent the copyright law back to the drawing board. All MEPs will get to vote on #uploadfilters and the #linktax September 10–13. Now let’s keep up the pressure to make sure we #SaveYourInternet! pic.twitter.com/VwqAgH0Xs5
— Julia Reda (@Senficon) July 5, 2018
The debate over the articles has become pretty heated
Internet personalities, including popular Youtubers and content creators PewDiePie and Philip DeFranco, as well as Maltese Youtuber Grandayy, have been campaigning against the articles for the last few weeks, saying the legislation will make it even harder for them to create and profit from their online content.
However, MEPs supporting the articles have said this is a concerted campaign to obscure what the articles are really about – addressing the value gap that is working against creators.
Joseph Calleja, the famed Maltese tenor, has also come out in support of the articles. “The crucial issue here is that without this law the music recording industry faces extinction. Indeed, I laud and thank Francis Zammit Dimech for his crucial vote that will ensure that our youngsters will have recording opportunities in the future,” he said in an interview with Maltatoday.
Had the articles passed today’s vote, they would have commenced with the trialogue discussions. However, the articles will now be sent for a vote in front of all MEPs to see whether there is still widespread support for the proposed legislation.
If the articles do not pass September’s vote, they may very well be trashed, at least for now.
What do you think of these two articles?
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